Happy New Year
"Ugh, that's so cheesy."
Just as Lin Tingyue was about to escape, Chi Zhuo caught her and brought her back.
"Today is the first day of the new year. Listen, Happy New Year!"
"Oh?" Lin Tingyue realized that last night was New Year's Eve and today was already the first day of the Lunar New Year.
Chi Zhuo took a red envelope out of his pocket and handed it to her personally.
"I hope my family will have a peaceful and prosperous new year."
She tiptoed and gently kissed his lips.
"Chi Zhuo, thank you." Thank you for choosing me, thank you for cherishing me so much, thank you for giving me a home.
Chi Zhuo responded to her kiss, tenderly and affectionately.
"Silly girl." He pressed his forehead against hers, their noses touching, their breaths mingling. "I should thank you for being willing to come into my world."
The two grew increasingly attached to each other, and Lin Tingyue, disregarding her clothes, began to touch Chi Zhuo's body.
Just as the two were deeply in love, an unexpected thud brought them back to reality.
Chi Zhuo frowned and looked over, when a figure turned and ran away quickly.
Lin Tingyue then realized that she was not in her apartment.
"This is...the old house?"
Chi Zhuo released her waist and nodded, "Yes, you drank last night, and Mom was worried I wouldn't be able to take good care of you, so she insisted that we both stay. She even prepared..."
Chi Zhuo hesitated, as if he wanted to speak.
"Huh? What have you prepared?"
"Just look at the bedside table in your bedroom and you'll see."
Lin Tingyue couldn't wait any longer and turned to go to the bedroom.
The bedside table was filled with red dates, longans, and peanuts; the meaning couldn't be clearer.
She walked out of the bedroom guiltily and looked at Chi Zhuo, "So...we didn't...worry to disturb Mom last night, did we?"
"Noisy?" Chi Zhuo thought about it seriously for a moment. "It is a bit noisy. I guess people upstairs and downstairs can hear your voice."
"What!" Lin Tingyue felt like the sky was falling. That meant everyone had heard them. It was all over. Her reputation was ruined.
"Oh no, what should I do?!"
Lin Tingyue was so embarrassed that she didn't want to go out and see anyone. She angrily took over the sofa and sat down.
She buried her face in the sofa cushions, her voice muffled as she said, "It's all over, I can't face Mom anymore... and others must have heard it too..."
Chi Zhuo chuckled as he looked at her, walked over and sat down beside her, gently patting her back.
"You actually believe that?" He laughed out loud. "Just kidding. You went straight to sleep when you got back last night. You didn't have the energy for that."
Lin Tingyue suddenly raised her head, her eyes wide open: "You're lying to me?"
"Who told you to be so easily fooled, believing everything you say?" Chi Zhuo pinched her cheek, his eyes full of laughter.
Lin Tingyue angrily punched him, and was about to say something when there was a soft knock on the door.
"Tingyue, Xiaozhuo, come down for dinner."
The two exchanged a glance, and Lin Tingyue hurriedly tidied her hair and clothes. "Mom, Happy New Year!"
"Okay, Happy New Year! Mom will give you a big red envelope later!"
"Ah! Thank you, Mom!" Lin Tingyue ran out with a smile, looking at Su Jinghe and saying coquettishly, "What's for breakfast? I just had some soup, it was delicious."
"Are you still feeling dizzy?"
Lin Tingyue shook her head. "I'm not dizzy anymore. Thank you for your concern, Mom."
"Silly child, you kept talking nonsense last night. You're not allowed to drink next time."
Lin Tingyue's smile vanished instantly, replaced by embarrassment. "Mom... did I talk nonsense last night?"
Su Jinghe glanced at Chi Zhuo, smiled, and remained silent.
"Go change your clothes quickly, then come down for dinner."
"Oh, okay."
After Su Jinghe left, Lin Tingyue turned to look at Chi Zhuo, feeling somewhat guilty.
"What...did I say last night?"
Alarm bells rang in her mind. She grabbed Chi Zhuo's arm and anxiously asked, "Tell me quickly, what nonsense did I say last night?"
Chi Zhuo looked at her leisurely, a hint of amusement in his eyes, and said slowly, "It's nothing, I just said some... things from my heart."
"What's on your mind?" Lin Tingyue panicked even more, desperately trying to recall, but all she could remember was that everyone was having a good time at the family dinner last night, and that she seemed to have gone home after helping Jiang Yan.
She doesn't really remember anything after that.
"Did I... say something I shouldn't have? About you? Or..."
Seeing that her cheeks were flushed with anxiety, Chi Zhuo stopped teasing her, reached out and pulled her into his arms, and confessed with a low laugh.
"Okay, I won't scare you anymore. Last night you were clinging to Mom's arm, calling her name over and over again, saying how nice it was to be here and that you didn't want to go back."
Lin Tingyue suddenly realized why she was sleeping in the old house today; that explained it all.
She looked up at him: "Really? That's all?"
“Yes,” Chi Zhuo nodded, his eyes softening. “Mom’s eyes were red at the time, and she patted your back and comforted you for a long time. So after you fell asleep, she insisted that we stay at the old house, saying that she was afraid I wouldn’t be able to take good care of you if you were not feeling well in the middle of the night, and that the apartment was too quiet, and that it would be more lively here so that you could be happier.”
“So,” Chi Zhuo gently nuzzled her nose, his tone tinged with a barely perceptible hint of jealousy, “Mom really loves you now. You can use your charm and sweetness to your fullest extent even when you’re drunk.”
Lin Tingyue finally felt a huge weight lifted from her heart, followed by a deep sense of gratitude and a touch of embarrassment.
She buried her face in Chi Zhuo's chest and mumbled softly, "I was just drunk... Besides, Mom is so good to me, it really warms my heart."
“I know,” Chi Zhuo tightened his arms around her, “we all love you.”
The two embraced for a moment, then Lin Tingyue suddenly remembered something, abruptly raising her head, her eyes becoming suspicious again: "Wait... besides this, there's nothing else? Is there... anything about you?"
Chi Zhuo's eyes flickered slightly, and he cleared his throat: "Ahem, well..."
"Speak quickly!" Lin Tingyue pinched him.
“It’s nothing,” Chi Zhuo touched his nose, his smile deepening, “It’s just that you insisted on dragging me along, saying I was the most handsome person in the world, and asking me why I like you so much…”
Before he could finish speaking, Lin Tingyue covered his mouth, her face flushed.
"Stop talking! Shut up!" She was so embarrassed she wanted to disappear into the ground.
"How could I possibly say something so cheesy? That's not what I said!"
Chi Zhuo pulled her hand down, held it in his palm, looked at her flushed ears, and said in a deep voice full of pleasure, "I think it sounds pretty good. You can say it more often in the future, when you're sober."
"You wish!" Lin Tingyue glared at him reproachfully and forcefully pulled her hand away. "Hurry up and change your clothes and come downstairs, don't keep Mom waiting!"
After she finished speaking, she practically fled into the dressing room.
Watching her retreating figure, Chi Zhuo leaned against the doorframe and smiled silently.
After the two changed their clothes and went downstairs, the aroma of food wafted through the restaurant.
"Tingyue, come quickly." Su Jinghe greeted her warmly.
Su Jinghe indeed took out a thick red envelope and stuffed it into Lin Tingyue's hand: "Take this, it's a New Year's blessing, wishing you peace and safety."
"Mom, this..." Lin Tingyue felt the thickness was astonishing and was a little embarrassed.
“Take it,” Su Jinghe pressed her hand down, her tone leaving no room for refusal, “This is Mom’s gift. We’ll have it every year from now on.”
Lin Tingyue felt a lump in her throat and whispered, "Thank you, Mom."
"Good girl." Su Jinghe patted her hand affectionately.
Then, she took out another red envelope and stuffed it into Chi Zhuo's hand, which made Chi Zhuo pause for a second.
"I also hope that Xiao Zhuo will be happy and healthy in the New Year!"
Lin Tingyue quickly ran over, pinched Chi Zhuo's sleeve, and winked at him.
"Quickly, thank Mom."
Chi Zhuo was a little unaccustomed to it, but then accepted the red envelope, "Thank... thank you, Mom..."
Su Jinghe then smiled even more happily.
"Okay, hello everyone, I'm happy too."
Lin Tingyue said in a coquettish tone, "Then we must come back to stay often in the future, Mom. You mustn't find us annoying then."
Su Jinghe immediately beamed with joy: "I couldn't be happier! It would be even better if I could hold my grandchildren soon, that would make it even more lively!"
Lin Tingyue almost choked, and quickly smiled, "Mom, this is... still early..."
She looked up, a little curious. "Hey, Mom, where's Grandpa? And also, wasn't there a little kid coming upstairs just now?"
"Oh, you mean that child? He's the grandson of your grandfather's former assistant. He brought the child over this morning to greet your grandfather. I guess the child ran upstairs because he had no one to play with. I already told him to go find his grandfather."
"Grandpa's former assistant?"
"Yes, your grandfather used to be very capable, but now his body can't keep up."
"Such friendship is very rare."
Chi Zhuo slowly spoke up from the side, "Grandpa is a sentimental person. When his assistant was about to leave, Grandpa insisted on giving him an apartment to keep him in Beijing."
"Wow." Lin Tingyue calculated her current abilities and realized that she didn't have the resources to give away houses in this area.
But if the old man was sentimental, why did he send Chi Zhuo away in the first place?
This puzzled her.
The weather was perfect, and Lin Tingyue sat lazily on the balcony, basking in the sun.
Xia Xiaoran sent a video call invitation.
She quickly answered the call and saw a group of people playing mahjong in the living room, surrounded by a lot of noise.
"Wow, baby, look at my house, it's practically a mahjong den."
Lin Tingyue smiled and held up her phone to observe, "Why haven't you joined them yet?"
Xia Xiaoran smiled mysteriously, "Someone won't let me touch this now."
"Huh? Why?"
Xia Xiaoran shook her head. "It's probably because I always lose, so I get angry at him, and he gets upset and won't let me play this game anymore."
"This..." Lin Tingyue frowned, sensing that something was amiss, but she couldn't say anything else.
"Oh, right, there's something rather troublesome. Could you come and take a look?"
As she spoke, Xia Xiaoran turned the camera around and pointed it at the corner. Lin Tingyue was immediately shocked when she saw the person's face.
"Senior Gu? What's he doing at your house?"
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